Bill Tieleman is one of BC's best known communicators, political commentators and strategists.
Bill writes a politics column Tuesdays in 24 Hours newspaper and The Tyee online magazine.
Bill has been Communications Director in the B.C. Premier's Office and at the BC Federation of Labour.
Bill owns West Star Communications, a consulting firm providing strategy and communication services for labour, business, non-profits and government.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Lock Up High-Risk Violent Sex Criminals Forever

Accused of murder - Raymond Lee Caissie - police photo

Surrey teen Serena Vermeersch's death should
be a wake-up call for the justice system

The
only possible positive development from the horrendous murder of Surrey
teenager Serena Vermeersch is that public demand to keep violent sex criminals
locked up forever may be irresistible.

And so
it should, because most if not all of those involved in horrific crimes cannot
be rehabilitated -- so our only choice is to protect society by permanently
jailing them.

The
accused, Raymond Lee Caissie, has not faced trial and must not be presumed
guilty in advance. Vermeersch's body
was found Sept. 16 and Caissie was arrested a week later.

But I
believe Caissie should never have been freed after being sentenced for terrible
sex crimes that put him behind bars for 22 years. He was released last year.

Nor
should many of the other 31 criminals designated under the Criminal Code as "high risk
offenders" who currently live in British Columbia communities
be at large. According to provincial Justice Ministry statistics, 115 high risk
offenders lived in B.C. between 2011 and 2013.

Caissie
received his sentence in 1991 for imprisonment for sexual assault, forcible
confinement and robbery. The details
are too horrible to repeat.

Caissie
said he was "comfortable in jail" and served his entire sentence, a
rarity.

After
his first hearing, the Parole Board of Canada said
he was likely to kill or seriously harm someone.

When
freed, a public warning went out saying Caissie was a high risk to reoffend,
yet he was not electronically monitored or given a curfew.

Great
plan. Rather than put out a warning that few likely heard or could act on, why
wasn't Caissie kept in jail indefinitely?

Worse,
Caissie breached his release conditions seven months after getting out and went
back to jail, but only for three months.

Civil
libertarians may object,
arguing that if a criminal has completed their sentence they should be
released.

But the
greater good requires that those who have committed serious crimes and are
likely to reoffend must remain in custody. Their crimes are not minor mistakes
that won't be repeated.

High-risk
for a reason

What
more evidence is needed for the federal Conservative government to act, and for
the New Democrat and Liberal opposition to guarantee speedy passage of new laws
keeping high risk offenders out of our communities?

Even
watching offenders 24 hours a day, seven days a week is no guarantee they won't
evade detection and commit another crime.

After
all, they are designated high risk to reoffend for a reason -- they are judged
to possibly commit a sexual offence against a child, a sexual assault with a
weapon or other similar crimes that carry sentences of 10 years or more
imprisonment.

In
other words, they are an extreme danger to any community.

The
Ministry of Justice can get a court order designating an individual as high
risk based on two Criminal Code
Sections:

"A
Section 810.1 is pursued in cases where a person fears another person will
commit a sexual offence against a child under the age of 16.

"A
Section 810.2 is pursued when a person fears another person may commit an
indictable offence (other than treason or murder) for which the offender may be
sent to imprisonment for 10 or more years, including sexual assault, sexual
assault with a weapon and aggravated sexual assault."

No
more lame excuses

Justice
Minister Suzanne Anton doesn't seem to understand public anger over this
murder.

"The
question really is, 'Are the appropriate tools in place?' And that is the
question I'm raising. I'm raising it with the federal minister. We owe it to
the Vermeersch family that our daughters are safe when they are waiting at bus
stops," Anton told reporters
last week.

"Should
there be electronic monitoring? I do think that that is something that
probably should be considered," Anton added.

Considered?
Make it mandatory for violent sex criminals!

Conservative
Justice Minister Peter MacKay said the federal government will "look"
at changes.

"We
are looking at ways in which we can toughen the parole provisions, but also
we're looking at ways in which the very worst, those who are most violent,
those who have committed offences, murder, in concert with other violent
offences against the public and the individual, that they're never
released," MacKay said
last week.

Not
good enough from a government in power since 2006.

Protecting the
innocent from the predatory must be the highest priority -- not lame excuses
after a horrific murder.

Bill Tieleman and Senator Larry Campbell, former Vancouver mayor

Jim Sinclair, Cindy Oliver, Ken Georgetti and Bill Tieleman

Bill Tieleman's coverage of the Basi-Virk/BC Legislature Raid Case praised by other journalists:

"This outstanding piece of journalism, in The Tyee, is the work of a journalist who has been deeply involved with this issue from the start and this article should be passed on as far and wide as possible."

"Bill Tieleman from 24 hours . . . . If you want to know about this trial and about this case, you have to read his blog – I mean, that’s just all there is to it – it’s required reading if you want to understand the BC Legislature Raid situation."

- Mike Smyth, columnist, The Province

"The Basi-Virk case....you’ve probably sat through more of these hearings and gone through more of the files and written about it than any other journalist in the province."

- Bill Good, host, The Bill Good Show, CKNW/Corus Radio Network

"Tieleman ...has done a first-rate job covering the trial."

- Paul Willcocks, columnist, the Victoria Times-Colonist

"Tieleman, who marries a considerable journalistic talent with one of the smartest political minds in the province, has been writing more web-exclusive material. And his coverage of the Basi-Virk trial is a must-read -- whether you're an insider or an outsider."

"24 Hours, the Vancouver paper that has been leading the coverage, as well as the hints of conspiracy in B.C."

- Norman Spector, columnist, Globe and Mail

"Although the major media in this circumstance has been giving the case significant coverage, Tieleman's reports on his blog have been outstanding.

The entire cut and thrust of legal wrangling and arguments has been covered and is accompanied by considered analysis.....His blog site coverage of the Basi-Virk trial is the most in depth treatment of one of British Columbia's biggest political scandals."

- Bill Bell, columnist, The North Shore News

"Mr. Tieleman has published online dispatches which, freed from the limitations of newsprint space or broadcast time, can run at length. They also remain available for those select readers who become obsessed with a case also known as Railgate.....

In another bizarre twist to a story with no shortage of them, Mr. Tieleman went to work one day in December only to discover his office had been ransacked. Bookcases had been tipped over and papers strewn, but nothing was missing.

To top it off, a press kit for the self-published novel The Raid, written by a retired military officer in Metchosin and featuring on its cover a photograph from the 2003 police raid, had been left in a conspicuous place."

- Tom Hawthorn, columnist, The Globe and Mail

Nobody has followed the Basi-Virk affair over its past five years with greater diligence than local journalist, Bill Tieleman....Tieleman deserves our thanks, a fistful of journalism awards and some merit citation for citizenship.